Rope
by Eternal.Angel
Summary: It was the only thread that allowed him to see the light. Platinum Pair. For SakuraIroKaze


December 24, 2008 to December 27, 2008

_**Fic written for the Pointless but Original Talking Forum Secret Santa Fic Exchange.**_  
**Request Number:** 06  
**Pairing/Groups: **Platinum Pair and/or Rikkaidai.  
**Squicks/Turn Offs in Fic:** Too much mushy stuff. Smut. Basically anything outta the teen genre.  
**Interests in Fic:** Niou.  
**Gen/Het/Slash/Smut/None/All-of-the-above?:** Slash and gen.  
**Request:** Hopefully everyone's alive. Anything will pretty much do~ so long as the characters are in style (and Akaya should be the 'blur' one, not the meanie devil D:). And Niou should be the main~ or one of the main~ XD**  
A/N//Message to receiver:** I hope you enjoy this. I –suck– at writing Platinum Pair, and this is my first attempt with lots of help from Rain-chan and Anne. So forgive me for half-cheating, m'dear. But Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you~!

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Rope  
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He looked up at the sky in boredom as he lay on the grass, sighing heavily. It had been quite a while, probably several years, after the Nationals had passed and his graduation had come and gone by quickly. Now he was a university student but still playing tennis to pass his time. Tennis for him was more than a hobby, and it was nearly but not a profession to achieve for. He had been known as "The Trickster" back in the day, being able to swiftly and accurately copy his opponent's moves. He had the most outrageous stunts up in his sleeve and ready to lash out at them. He had made himself known as one of the scariest tennis players out there, that his unique style of play and level of tennis, at the National level, had earned him that title. But now that a few years had flew by quickly as if it hadn't happened at all, slowly, his reputation was dropping. He was struggling to remain as known as possible, just like his other teammates from Rikkai Dai and other high schools that he had once competed with in the past when he was still young.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he somehow began disappearing from the world. He didn't know how it had happened; at first, he thought his popularity was stable. His ways of tricking people never ceased to amuse his teammates and classmates, albeit sometimes it was a bit annoying. He had first noticed how his existence started deteriorating; first, the old ladies had forgotten about him. Those old ladies who kept on complaining about his pranks while Niou just laughed it off, as if it were the funniest thing in the world. They started to forget about him, until one day during his third year of high school they didn't even pay attention to him anymore, didn't give him that knowing glare that they so often had given him.

Gradually other people started to forget him. First it was his teachers, and then it was his former classmates from middle school. Slowly, he began to disappear from people's lives, one by one. To disappear from this world successfully, one must have the ability to disappear from other people's lives. To disappear from people's lives, one must have the ability to make people forget about them. The thing was, he didn't want people to forget about him. He wanted to keep on living, to keep on existing. He wanted his existence to be known; he didn't want to become invisible to everyone's eyes and ears.

The only thing keeping him alive up till now was probably "The Gentleman", his former doubles partner. His partner had become popular as a university student, leaving him behind. He still followed his teammate, clinging onto him. He was the only rope, the only string left that kept him from disappearing completely. He was the only person that acknowledged his existence from the first time they were paired up in a tennis match back in high school, to this very moment, where he was in a deep reverie and a unsteady state of mind, thinking and reflecting upon many things.

He recalled how his partner would always listen to him intently to everything he had to say, and pushed up his glasses with his pointer finger in the process and nodded his head, showing him that he had listened to everything he had to say. He never refused a request from him, which secretly, inside, made him feel… bliss? Or was it happiness? Perhaps, gratefulness? Made him realize that his partner was the greatest partner he could have ever befriended? Thinking about such things like these gave him a terrible and annoy headache. It wasn't his area of expertise, after all. Tennis was his main thing, not something about what he thought about. Tennis was his life, just like all the other tennis maniacs he had met, each and every one of them polishing their technique and moves. It was like the expression where when one gives you lemons, you squeeze and make lemon juice out of them or something.

Alright, now he was thinking too much.

He should be thinking more about his life and tennis rather than fussing over his former partner. "The Gentleman" was far away from him now, although they regularly contacted one another. Rather, he was the one who called him on that regular basis and annoyed him, though from his voice, the one on the other side of the phone didn't mind at all. The more he called however, the less they talked and spoke to one another. Just the occasional hello and how things were going were the only things spoken over the line. They didn't tell each other about any exciting events that had occurred, or reminisced over matters from the past. The calls were becoming shorter and shorter, and for some reason, an uneasy feeling began to stir inside, but he simply pushed it aside and continued to dial his cell.

And after that phone call, it was their last. After that, he never heard from him again. Or rather, it wasn't the same person he ever heard from again. Those three words pierced him in the heart, sending a great pain throughout his body. It wasn't a physical pain or injury that he would have experienced when playing tennis vigorously, but a different kind of pain. More of a… mental one? One that disabled him from concentrating fully? It distracted him constantly, wavering in his mind over and over again, never to be ridden of.

"I'm sorry, Masaharu."

'Sorry' wasn't the answer he was seeking and looking forward to. He wanted something more than that, and yet, when he reached out to grab it all for himself, it seeped through the holes and gaps made with his gripped fist and floated away from him. Why, just why, couldn't he have him all for himself? Why did he decide to leave him behind and accept some stupid offer or contract or whatever it was and leave Japan? What was it that he wanted the most? He couldn't put it into words; it was even more difficult to even think about it, nonetheless. It wasn't what he wanted to hear from him. Those were the last three words he ever wanted to hear from a guy like him, someone that had always been by his side and mutually agreeing with whatever he said. The two minds thought alike, after all.

However, one had decided to go further and leave the other behind. It was unintentional though, he thought to himself, because he would never do that. But apologizing like that meant… it was a final? That he was really sorry and didn't mean to hurt him? It was alright, he supposed. But it was time for one to part and break free from the small little world, the small little world of playing tennis and living their life in Japan for the past many years, however long. It was time for the little duck, wandering to search not only its mother, but life purpose, and swim along the water, its feet paddling below the surface as it trailed along, following the path made beforehand. It would soon make its own path. But the other duckling decided to sit and wait and watch from afar, observing its mate slowly moving away from it. It did not dare to move an inch from its warm spot.

He just couldn't accept it, but it was time to move on.

The rope had finally loosened and broke.

It was time, he knew, to move on.

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Owari_  
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A/N:** I'M SORRY! I suck at writing Platinum Pair. It's actually my first time before I was planning to put them in the Sky Rides story… but yea, I'm sorry for whomever this is for, that it turned out so ugly. I had it beta-ed by my friends and they had no idea what was going on, but… -cries- I'M SORRY AGAIN! FORGIVE ME! -dies- But I want to thank **Apple Snapple** and **Sweet Obsidian Rain** for their help~ thanks again! XD Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


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